WASHINGTON, D.C. – The promised release of a high profile democracy advocate in Vietnam “should not and cannot be the end of much needed reforms in that country,” said US Congressman Chris Smith, the author of legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives calling on the Vietnamese government to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Pham Hong Son and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience held in that country (H.CON.RES. 320).

“It is encouraging that the government of Vietnam is finally responding to the concerns of the United States Congress and human rights advocates around the world,” Smith said.  “However, there is reason for skepticism given the ongoing harassment and surveillance of political prisoners released in the past.  We will continue to carefully monitor the conduct of the government to ensure that it respects the rights of Dr. Pham Hong Son and other Vietnamese who are being persecuted.”

Dr. Pham Hong Son’s release is supposed to be part of an amnesty for over five thousand prisoners in honor of Vietnam’s independence day on September 2nd.  In 2002, Vietnamese government police arrested Dr. Pham Hong Son on charges of espionage after he translated an article from the US Embassy website, entitled, “What is Democracy,” and sent it to friends and senior Vietnamese officials.  He had also written an open letter, published on the Internet, protesting the fact that his house had been searched illegally and his computer and documents confiscated.  After a closed trial he was sentenced to five years in prison and an additional three years of house arrest.

Smith said the news of Dr. Pham Hong Son’ release “was tempered by further reports that he has not been entirely pardoned.”  The Vietnamese Vice Minister of Public Security Le The Tiem stated that Dr. Son may be out of prison soon, but he could still serve three years of what Vice Minister Tiem called “local cooperation.”

“The Vietnamese government must learn that recognition of human rights is not merely a public relations game,” said Smith, who went to Vietnam in December 2005 and met with Dr. Pham Hong Son’s courageous wife, Vu Thuy Ha . 

“The government is not the arbiter of human rights and has no authority or justification for limiting Dr. Pham Hong Son’s freedom in any way.  Dr. Pham Hong Son’s case, together with the release and subsequent treatment of other political prisoners, will be a critical test of Vietnam’s commitment to systematically reform its human rights policies before it is considered for admission into the World Trade Organization,” Smith said.